For the First Time in Forever
by It's-A-Passion
Summary: Juliette Scrubb had listened to her cousins' stories about Narnia, but she'd never taken them seriously. Until she was transported there through a painting, nearly drowning, before being saved by a devastatingly handsome King who had an unnerving ability to make her forget how to breathe. She wasn't expecting that. She also didn't expect to fall in love with him. CaspianOC.
1. Juliette Scrubb

…

For the First Time in Forever

CHAPTER ONE – Juliette Scrubb

I was attempting to read _Anna Karenina_ again, leaning against the exterior brick wall of the building currently taking enlistments into His Majesty's Armed Forces, though I was far too amused to really read past the first few lines.

"I'm going to enlist. Why are you over here?"

My lips quirked up into a smirk the moment my cousin Edmund said that, like I knew he would. I'd predicted that he, like a bunch of other idiotic boys who knew nothing about war and what that would mean should they actually be fighting in it, would make that declaration today as his sister Lucy searched through the market for carrots. I was supposed to be looking for the potatoes.

So I ignored his question and went straight for his statement.

"You're not old enough," I pointed out, rather more cheerfully than perhaps I should've, as his age was a sore spot for him.

"Close enough," he grumbled irritably, blinking through the ends of his black hair that poked out from under his cap and covered his eyes, before shoving it to the side. "Besides, I _know_ about wars."

That was when I knew where the conversation could lead, and I _may_ have prodded him towards it. On purpose. So I could tease him mercilessly. Which may have been a bit mean, but we were family – it was in the job description.

I just found it too funny, really, that he was going to try to enlist despite the fact that I _knew_ they wouldn't let him in. I'd lost count of the number of other boys who had been thrown out for trying the exact same thing. But Edmund was too stubborn – and apparently, too eager to charge headlong into life threatening situations – for his own good, and perhaps I _may_ have played on that to get to the conversation I wanted.

"You won't get in," I said firmly, trying and failing to get rid of the smirk on my lips. "Just like every other underage boy who's tried, you're going to be tossed out."

His reply, his voice unreasonably chagrined, was that this time, for _him_, it would be different.

"Oh," I said, suspiciously innocently, for my skills at manipulation and lying were _abysmal_ at best and I seemed to always manage to incriminate myself by the tone of my voice alone. But for once, Ed did not seem to notice or catch on, instead his mind was undoubtedly preoccupied with his mission ahead. "And why's that?"

And that was when he'd made the dismissive comment about being a king in Narnia again that I had been hoping for. And I prepared myself for all the teasing I could muster, because _that_, really, was the proper source of my amusement. I found it ridiculously hilarious that he thought he'd be enlisted on the basis that he'd supposedly been a king – and thus, have an understand beyond his years of war – in a _completely made up world_.

I had caught him and his sister muttering about Narnia enough times that I had finally demanded to know what on earth they were on about. So they'd told me. And I'd laughed. In retrospect, it had be exceedingly rude of me, but I hadn't been able to help myself; there they were, trying to get me to believe in a make-believe world they claimed to have gone to twice before. What did they expect?

_Obviously_, it was just a game they'd played when they were younger, and not so younger, that they believed in perhaps a little too much for people their age, but I found little harm in it, and so had decided against informing my parents about their lunacy. They were, after all, staying with us, while their two older siblings and parents were in America. And it _was_ just a game.

So when they mentioned to each other, bringing it up in conversation, I couldn't _not_ take the opportunity to tease them for believing in fictional world like it was _real_ and for talking like their stories had _actually_ happened. They took it well, and in return, Ed took every opportunity to tease me for anything he could.

Like I said. _Family_ – it was in the job description.

I opened my mouth to let forth a torrent of teasing when Ed turned on his heel and headed inside. I gaped after him, still leaning against the wall. All that. All that work to steer him into bringing up Narnia, and it had come to nothing. I was severely disappointed, and as I stared at the wooden door, a sort of pang of panic went through my chest.

Sometimes, I thought he was far too eager to engage in warfare than he should.

And what if, _what if_, he managed to fool them, and he was enlisted? What was I supposed to do then? I couldn't let him go off to war where he could die, where he could experience horrible things. How was I supposed to protect him if he was on another continent? In the few months my cousins had stayed with us, I had become extremely attached to them.

But then, I remembered all the other boys and the panic became expectation as I waited for a dejected and even more irritated Edmund to come stomping out. I picked up the little basket beside me, that had the pumpkin and turnips already bought in there, and started to walk back to the markets to continue searching for those potatoes I was supposed to get.

There were a few uniformed men in the markets, and I blinked when I saw a flash of familiar ash blonde hair – wasn't that the man I'd just seen flirting with a girl outside the building where enlistments were taking place? And here he was, with a different girl, gently brushing his fingers over her cheek as he pushed some of her hair back from her face. I rolled my eyes, turning away.

My stomach gnawed at me, asking for a little food, and I looked around for something I could snack on right now. Just over to my right was an apple stand, the owner beginning to pack everything away because there was only one apple left. I hurried over, going to reach for it when a hand snaked forward and snatched it before I could.

Annoyed that someone would be so rude as to _steal_ the apple from me, when I was so obviously about to grab it, I turned to face the thief, hands on my hips. An absurdly handsome soldier, with startling blue eyes grinned down at me arrogantly. Then I recognized the ash blonde hair. My chin jutted out, as I said in a monotone, "That's my apple."

"Really?" He inquired, raising an eyebrow at me as he reached over and handed to owner the right amount of coins for it. He looked to be only a couple years older than me, and the kind of handsome that knew the looks he got from women as they fawned over him. "And how can that be, when I've just bought it?"

My jaw clenched, my dark green eyes flashing in irritation. "It was obvious I was going to get it and you _stole_ it out from under me."

"Stole it, did I? Well, that wasn't very nice of me, was it?" And now he was being a patronizing jerk. He stood there, in his uniform, looking arrogant as he gave me a cocky grin. "I'll tell you what," he proposed. "I'll give you the apple."

"And what's it going to cost me?" I snapped, because how many times had my father warned me about those arrogant soldier types and what they were really after? I didn't expect him to be just giving me the apple, otherwise he wouldn't have gone to the trouble of snatching it from me. Clearly, there was a reason for it, and that was where this was leading.

"I'll give you the apple on the condition you go to the pictures with me."

"_Excuse me?_" I folded my arms, staring at him incredulously. He was not the kind of man I had any interest in going to the pictures with; who was neither polite nor respectful towards me and every other woman around here apparently, seeing as he flitted from one to the other like a bee would with flowers. I wrinkled my nose; he seemed to have a suave kind of slipperiness that I bet let him get away with a lot.

"Say yes, then you can get home and start cooking whatever it is you're making with pumpkin and turnips, and before you know it, it'll be Friday and we'll go to the pictures."

I was honestly torn between severe irritation at his brash and smug countenance and a begrudging sort of disgusted fascination at the fact that he was being like that – arrogant and cocky – to _me_. I had not met a man who could speak to me with an air of chauvinistic rudeness that was at the same time a kind of charming that undoubtedly beguiled most girls.

Clearly, my tone when I'd said _excuse me_ hadn't been hint enough that I was absolutely not interested. So perhaps, I needed to be clearer. "I don't want the apple _that_ much."

I turned to leave because I still had to find potatoes, and I held no desire to spend any more time in the company of that particular soldier. But he blocked my way, stepping out and impeding my progress, still grinning like I was playing some sort of game with him. Maybe he thought that was more probable than the fact that I didn't like him. "Don't be like that. I'm Don Walker, what's your name?"

"Look, I don't know how much clearer I can be. I am _not_ interested in being the next girl foolish enough to be played by you, too stupid to see you're slimy and manipulative and rude. I would say it's been a pleasure meeting you, _Don Walker_, but it really hasn't been." I said as firmly as I could to end the conversation before I pushed past him. I was actually insulted he thought he could fool me too.

"You'll change your mind," he called after me and I just shook my head at how deluded he was. I mean, when a girl brushed a guy off and walked away, it made it pretty obvious she wasn't interested.

Maybe if I'd only turned away, I could understand his mistake – it could've been taken as coy and flirtatious. But I hadn't. I'd walked away. So he had to be delusional. That was the only conclusion I could come to.

I found the potatoes then, and my cousin Lucy, Edmund's sister, found me just seconds after that, carrying a wooden crate with everything else in it; all the vegetables we'd need to make the soup tonight. But no carrots.

"No carrots?" I asked her dismally. I missed them; we hadn't had carrots for _ages_.

She was a couple years younger than me, though she had grown a lot in the last few months. Her brown hair had gotten longer and she'd taken to tying a ribbon around her head, tucking the sides her ears. Despite being younger, she was slightly taller. A fact I refused to acknowledge, because it hardly seemed fair that I had to watch all those around me shoot up past me.

"No," she sighed. "Only turnips. Again." Then she glanced over her shoulder at the blonde soldier, Don, who seemed to be throwing glances our way. I sighed, rolling my eyes as she asked, "Who's that?"

My jaw clenched, "Only an obnoxiously rude soldier who doesn't seem capable of comprehending rejection."

"Oh," she frowned, still confused because I hadn't really explained anything. She pushed her bike with one hand, the other with the bow tucked under her arm. She looked back up, seeming to realize that we were down a man. "Juliette, where's Edmund?"

We made it out of the markets then, and just ahead was the building where the enlistments were taking place. I snorted, raising an eyebrow at her and glancing between the building and her, "Where do you think?"

We came to a stop just outside the building, at the little path and gate that would lead up to the large, heavy wooden front doors. She leant her bike – which, now that I thought about it, was actually _my_ bike – against the fence before looking up at me. She sighed, a hand reaching up absentmindedly to push more of her hair behind her ear. "He's not old enough yet."

"I told him that. But when does he listen to _me_?" It was true. Ed rarely actually listened to me when he got something in his head. He was too stubborn most of the time to be dissuaded. She rolled her eyes and darted up the path to the front door, shoot me a glance and rolling her eyes before she ducked inside to blow Ed's chances of getting in.

And I was left to contemplate why we seemed to always miss the carrots.

**So. What did you think? Thanks for reading!**

**Continue or not?**


	2. Instincts

…

For the First Time in Forever

CHAPTER TWO – Instincts

I hadn't gotten very far in figuring out how we seemed to miss the carrots all the time when Ed and Lucy were both re-emerging from the building, Ed's dark hair falling into his eyes. He glared at my knowing smile while he argued with Lucy.

"You know," a voice drawled behind me, startling me, and I spun around. Don stood before me, a smirk on his face, though as far as I could see, there was absolutely no reason for him to be smirking. My arms folded across my chest defensively, my jaw clenching. His showing up again put me on edge and made me a little nervous, because it seemed he really wasn't getting the message. "You're actually very rude. Weren't you ever taught manners?"

I ignored his question. "And this is quickly becoming harassment."

My heart sped up, though I wasn't really sure why. We were just to the side of a road, people walking about. There were plenty of other witnesses and soldiers around. I was safe. There was no stimulus that I could see that was making my body react like I should run away.

I looked up at his blue eyes – so ridiculously blue and quite disarming – and saw, for just a second, a dark emotion flash across them. It chilled me, fear creeping along my spine with cold fingers. There was an intent hunger in his eyes that hadn't been there before, in the markets. And for a moment, the corners of his mouth tightened, a faintly cruel twist to his lips. But then he was smirking again, and I was sure I'd imagined it.

He made no reply, but he did take a step towards me, all arrogance and self-satisfied smirking. It felt like a threat, his eyes predatory as he assessed my reaction. My hands curled into fists and my first reflex was to smack my fists into his chest to shove him back. I restrained it, surprised the first thing I wanted to do was _hit_ him. My heart raced and my muscles tensed like my body was preparing for a physical altercation.

I blinked, taking a small, half-step back from him. I had to be overreacting. He was a soldier, just put out by my rejection. He was probably unused to the sensation. There was no reason for me to respond like this. None whatsoever. His in-step wasn't a threat, nor was it predatory. That was just _ridiculous_.

"I think you should leave me alone," I said thickly, as calmly as I could, trying to swallow even though my mouth was bone dry. His proximity was too close to be comfortable, too close for their level of acquaintance.

He leant forward, ignoring my words, his eyes on my neck. "Your jugular is fluttering like the wings of a frightened, caged bird."

I flinched like I'd been slapped, and I opened my mouth to say something, anything, that would make him move away. The words died on my lips though, and I couldn't find any others to replace them. The urge to punch him rose up because, I realized, I felt trapped. Exactly like the caged bird he spoke of. But I didn't move. I didn't know what to do.

Like a God send, Ed stepped up beside me, his long fingers wrapping around my small wrist easily and tugging me back behind him slightly so his much taller frame blocked me. Irritation flew through Don's eyes at this, and I thought maybe he would lash out at Ed.

It made me want to push Ed back behind _me_, to protect him. I was the older one here, I was the one who should be handling the situation. I shouldn't be letting him fight my battles. But there was something about Don that made me nervous and frightened at the same time, and Ed seemed to be completely unaffected.

He stared at Don unflinchingly, his eyes hard as he said, "Maybe you should take a step back."

Don's jaw twitched, "I'm talking to _her_."

He nodded his head in my direction and I automatically took another, smaller step back. Ed caught the motion. "I think you should leave her alone."

"If she wanted me to leave her alone, then why was she waiting outside this particular building?"

The building swarmed with soldiers. He was a soldier. I frowned. Was he really that delusional? Did he really think I was just playing a game with him and that I actually liked him? If he did, he was completely misreading me, and I tried to think what I'd done to make him think that. Hadn't I been expressly clear?

"She was waiting for me," Ed said. "She doesn't want to talk to you. _Leave_."

I found my voice then, slightly annoyed that it had taken me so long to find it. "Leave, Don. I'm not interested."

"You'll change your mind," he said his earlier words again. As he walked away, the trapped feeling went with him and I noticed it was getting late. Lucy stood just behind me, a frown on her face. Ed turned to me, giving me a subtle once over like he was trying to check I was unharmed without me knowing about it. I gave Ed and Lucy a sheepish smile, suddenly feeling silly for being afraid. There was no cause for alarm. I didn't know why I reacted so extremely.

"I know," Ed said dully, rolling his eyes. "You had it sorted."

"Actually, I didn't." My words seemed to surprise him. "I wanted to both hit him and run away, but I couldn't seem to move. I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

"Maybe you should trust your instincts more," Ed said, his voice wiser than I'd ever heard it before. I frowned, biting my lip, but I didn't reply.

We stood there in silence and the tension in the air dissipated. My pulse settled back into a steady, normal rhythm, and I felt like a fool. My reaction had been silly; all Don had done was say some words and take a step towards me.

And eyed my jugular like he was going to lunge for it.

_Don't be absurd_, I snapped at myself.

I pushed the thought away, before finally, silently, laughing at myself. I shook the last tendrils of uncertainty off, looking up at Ed and jostling his elbow. I just wanted to put this exchange behind me and out of my mind. My knowing smile was back in place. "So…" I cleared my throat. "Did they recognize your _kingly_ potential?"

I effectively shattered the silence that had descended over us, and Ed rewarded my teasing with a glare. In an unspoken effort, we put what had just happened from our minds, returning to our normal behaviour. It was easy, to slide back into my playful, joking mood now that Don was nowhere in sight. I'd never see him again, so I had no reason to dwell on him.

I nudged him some more, like I was seriously waiting for an answer from him, but my playful grin just made him ignore me. His scowl made it pretty obvious things hadn't gone the way he wanted and I deliberated whether or not to rub in the fact that _I_ had been _right_. Recalling the way he jumped to my defense though, I decided against it.

"I've fought wars and led armies. I would be an _asset_." He declared, his shock of black hair falling into his eyes. Again. He needed another haircut. He tugged at his overly baggy clothes on his tall, lanky frame, pulling his jacket around him more firmly.

"Because you were a king, right?" I mocked and he made a face at me. From the moment they'd moved in with us, I knew I'd get along with Ed just fine. "In _Narnia_."

He sighed, resigned, "Yeah, and instead I'm stuck here, doing battle with Eustace Clarence Scrubb."

He said my brother's name like it was the name of a disgusting bug, similar to the ones Eustace liked to collect. While I got along with my cousins just fine, Eustace did not. He was about Lucy's age, and a rather obnoxious boy at times. It wasn't entirely his fault though; he was too much like our father, who avoided children like you would the plague.

It was why, underneath my teasing, a pang of jealously would shoot through me whenever Ed or Lucy mentioned Narnia. They'd told me their stories about it. There were mighty, epic battles and evil powers, and awesome adventures. It made me wish Eustace, had acted more like a child when he was actually a child. Maybe then, I'd actually have had a sibling to play such spectacular games with. But instead I had spent my time doing solitary things, like reading.

I bounced on the balls of my feet beside Lucy as Ed took the box of vegetable from her and attached it to the back of my bike. She looked like she hadn't considered doing that, which was bizarre – wasn't that why we brought the bike along? I grinned at Ed, "And how many times have you gone into battle with _him_?"

The animosity between my cousins and Eustace was incredibly amusing to watch. Until it escalated to physical blows, and then I would have to step in and diffuse the tension and hostility.

"Too many to count," he grunted, rolling his eyes. Lucy made no reply, her eyes fixed on something else, distracted. "If anyone deserves – what are you doing?"

I glanced at Lucy, my eyes flicking over to what had caught her attention. A soldier, in his uniform and so obviously newly enlisted judging from the youthful innocence of his face, leaning in towards a girl, her face expressing how flattered she was at his attention. The girl had coyly tucked her hair behind her ear, and Lucy, eyes stuck on the couple, had copied the motion. Ed's question startled her out of her thoughts and she looked back at us, her cheeks tingeing pink. "Nothing. Come on then."

She pulled on the bike, starting our short journey home, leaving Edmund to look quizzically over his shoulder in the direction of the couple and then back again. He walked along beside me, frowning to himself. "I don't understand what's going on with her lately."

I rolled my eyes, bringing my long braid of auburn hair over my shoulder, playing with the ends, my step almost a skip, "Of course _you_ don't. You're male."

That only made his frown deepen. Then I shoved him, to knock him out of his thoughts because, quite frankly, he wouldn't understand. His eyes twinkled at me mischievously, and I took it as a bad sign, side-stepping away from him. Just as quick, he shoved me back, causing me to stumble into Lucy. It made me gasp and laugh at the same time. "Ed!"

But I laughed and went back for more, pushing him, before darting back out of his reach. That was why Ed and I got along so well. He was the first person I'd met who didn't care that I was both shorter and smaller than him, and would take every opportunity to push me back. He didn't worry about hurting me, especially because most of the time, I initiated the rough play.

I tended to be a physical person, which had not mixed well with Eustace, who had spent his younger years crinkling his snub nose at me whenever I suggested we run around or play tag, asking what the _point_ of it was. Like it was the most _illogical_ thing in the world.

And then Ed turned up, and I unthinkingly shoved him playfully. I'd waited for the indignant demands of what my problem was, like I would've received from Eustace. But all he'd done was thrust his arms at me, pushing back and laughing. I assumed having three siblings made him accustomed and well-practiced enough not to look at me like I'd lost my mind. I'd been positively _delighted_.

I gave up on playing then, tugging irritably on my stockings. They kept sliding down my legs as I walked, my feet slapping through puddles of dirty rain water and mud. Eventually Lucy joined in conversation, and it wasn't long before we were pushing open the small gate out the front of my house and heading up to the front door.

"Hello?" I called, as I swung the door open. I got no response, though I couldn't say I was expecting one.

"We're home! Hello?" Lucy called out as well. Her and Ed followed in behind me. We stumbled into the foyer, and I slipped my shoes off so I wouldn't track mud through our house. Just to the right, was the sitting room, which Lucy headed through to get to the kitchen, carting her box and my basket with our vegetables. "Hello Uncle Harold."

The man in the corner of the room didn't even stir from his chair, or peek his lined face out from over his newspaper. Lucy got no reply from him. She rarely did. "We tried to find some carrots but all they had were turnips again. Shall we start making soup? Aunt Alberta is one her way home. Uncle Harold?"

Again, there was no reply, and I shifted impatiently on my feet, going over to my dad and kissing his cheek. That seemed to startle him out of his head enough to realize there were people talking to him. He had an uncanny ability to tune anyone under the age of eighteen out.

"_Soup_, father?" I said pointedly.

"Yes, yes," he mumbled dismissively, his eyes already turning back to the newspaper. "Your mother said she'd cook that when she got home."

For a second, I was irritated. How long had he been home for? He could've at least started on dinner, so there would be less for my mother to do when she got home. Now that we had more vegetables, he could be helping right now. But he made no move to get out of the chair. I huffed pointedly, but he wasn't paying attention anymore.

I glanced up at Ed just in time to see him stick out his tongue at my balding father and I had to stifle a laugh. I instantly felt better. A familiar, nasally voice called out from behind Ed, on the staircase and I sighed. We'd been home less than two minutes, and it was already starting.

"Father, Edmund's making faces at you," Eustace said quickly, ever eager to tattletale on his cousins at every opportunity. He curled his fingers around, bring his hand to his mouth before projectile spitting something at Ed. It hit Ed on the neck, and he reacted, charging up the stairs after the bug-obsessed boy.

"Why you little - ."

"Father! He's going to hit me!" Eustace called, in a plea for our father's help that wouldn't come. Just before Ed could attack Eustace in vengeance though, I took pity on my younger brother. Even if he _was_ asking for it.

"Ed," I said calmly, and his fist froze, hovering between Eustace and himself. His jaw clenched and he straightened up, sighing. I made my way up the stairs, and Ed brushed past Eustace, leaving him unscathed. _This time_. I didn't know whether getting involved in their squabbling was a good idea – it could teach Eustace a lesson about aggravating people who were bigger and stronger than him. Even if Eustace was practically begging for a beating though, I couldn't stand to see him hurt.

I helped him to his feet before pulling my jacket and scarf off, folding them over my arms as I looked firmly at Eustace, letting him know just how disappointed I was. "I wish you would just _try_ to get along with them."

"I don't _like_ them," he said simply, blinking his blue eyes that were exactly like our mother's. I got our father's green eyes instead. His short blonde hair was ruffled slightly, and he had the decency to wilt slightly under my reproachful gaze, somewhat ashamed. Though, it didn't stop him muttering, "I can't wait for them to leave so things can go back to normal."

I was hoping for just the opposite. For the first time since he'd been born, I had people to talk and laugh and tease with and actually get a response from. When I tried that with Eustace, he would huff haughtily and storm off, locking himself in his room and writing away in his journal, probably about how annoying I was. "Just _try_, Eustace."

"No," he replied adamantly, and I sighed, shaking my head and walking back down the stairs and to the kitchen where Lucy was, dropping my jacket and scarf on the back of a chair as I went.

"How about you start cutting the vegetables, and I'll check on the plants this time?" I asked. Our mother loved the little garden she had out the front of the house, and had given us strict orders to tend to it of an afternoon while she was at work.

"Alright," she agreed quickly, before I could change my mind. Lucy didn't particularly like working in the garden. Especially not after that one time she'd ripped up some budding sprouts of my mother's favourite flowers, under the misapprehension that they were weeds. That had been a disaster, and since then, she'd avoided the garden, which was great because I'd far rather be in the garden than be chopping vegetables.

I left her in the kitchen, and went back out the back of the house to the tiny tin shed out the back. It was dark, and most likely full of spiders, so I quickly darted in, smothering a small squeal, and grabbed the pair of gloves, the shears and the garden hoe, before going back to the front of the house and getting to work.

I kneeled in the damp, dark soil, pulling out weeds and turning the soil over, and trimming the neatly edged hedges. I went to water the flowers, but paused when I felt a fat droplet of water splatter on the end of my nose. I looked up at the grey sky, the clouds blocking the heavens from sight and promising a downpour soon enough.

I finished as quickly as I could and it began sprinkling on me. I stood up, arching my back to stretch it out, slipping off the dirt encrusted gloves to push back the shorter strands of hair sticking to the sides of my face. With only a light shower, enough just to dampen my hair, the tendrils began to curl.

I glanced up, and my heart spluttered in my chest. I squinted my eyes, trying to see through the rain all the way down the street. A man stood there, looking right at me. I recognized the soldier's uniform well enough. But was that…I squinted harder, straining my eyes.

I felt my neck prickle. Ash blonde hair. The soldier had ash blonde hair.

With uncoordinated fingers, I fumbled with the mailbox, pulling out the few letters we had, before darting up the short path to the front door, closing it quickly. I leant against it for a minute, staring unseeingly at little hallway in front of me.

_Had_ that been Don?

What if I had?

_And what if it wasn't?_ A snide part of my mind asked. _You're acting foolish for no reason. Plenty of men have ash blonde hair._

I swallowed, pushing myself off the door and leaving the gardening tools in the corner of the foyer. I was fine. If it wasn't him, then I had nothing to worry about. And if it was, then he was just trying to scare me a little, like earlier. And hopefully that was it. Obviously, he didn't like being rejected. But I couldn't shake the feeling that maybe it was a bit more than just trying to scare me. That couldn't be true though.

Right? Okay.

Ed had said that maybe I should trust my instincts more. What did my instincts say about Don?

That he was no good. I wasn't sure why, but he made me afraid, and on-edge. Tense. Nervous. I would just have to avoid him. I could do that - it wouldn't be too hard, considering today had been the first time I'd ever seen him before. _But_...was that the first time he'd seen me?

I didn't want to think about this anymore. I was just working myself up when really, it could be completely harmless.

I looked down at the letters clenched in my hands, flicking through them. All but one were addressed to my parents, and I left them in the kitchen where Lucy was cutting the vegetables. The last one I handed to her after she dried her hands. Her eyes lit up when she recognized the handwriting.

"Thank you!"

I took the knife from her and finished cutting the last couple potatoes as she ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs to Ed.

There wasn't much left to do, and I washed my hands, following her up.

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**The next chapter, Juliette is on her way to Narnia (and, therefore, Caspian), which I hope you're excited for, because I'm excited to write it! I know that'll mean leaving the whole Don thing unresolved, but it's that way for a reason, so bear with me.**

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**Musicluver246: **Naw, thank you :D I'm stoked you seem to want to read more! Thanks so much for leaving a review! It means a lot to me, and I hope this chapter didn't disappoint.


	3. The Magic Painting

…

For the First Time in Forever

CHAPTER THREE – The Magic Painting

I pushed open the door to my bedroom, which I shared with Lucy.

There were two beds, their sides pressed against opposite walls of the small room. My side of the room was littered with piles of books I was reading that hadn't made it back to the small bookcase in the corner, an old, well-used lamp on the bedside table that was against the wall beside the head of my bed.

Lucy's side looked almost like there wasn't anyone inhabiting that space; she hadn't brought much with her. The only thing that made it clear a person was sleeping in that bed was the ribbons wrapped around the white metal frame of the headboard of her bed. Above her bed was a round window, which let the greyish light from the soon-to-be heavily stormy sky stream in, hitting the white walls and making the room look brighter.

Lucy was sitting on her bed, already reading the letter out as Ed paced the room, listening. Because my bed was covered in items of clothing I'd thrown there earlier, while trying to find the white blouse I wanted to wear, I lay out on the floor, roughly in the middle of the room, unwinding my braid. My hair was slightly damp from the sprinkling of rain, so it would dry faster if it wasn't pulled back in a braid.

"_It seems the Germans have made the crossing difficult right now._" Lucy read out, her eyes flying over the unfolded paper as I unwound my hair, the movements slow and soothing. I had come to find there was something extremely settling about having my hair played with."_Times are hard. Mother hopes you both won't mind another few months in Cambridge._"

Lucy paused and Ed spun around to look at her, nearly tripping over my sprawled legs in his haste, and I jerked upright. Lucy groaned, "Another few months? How will we survive?"

I coughed pointedly and her gaze flickered over to me apologetically. "Is it wrong of me to be happy you're not going anywhere yet?"

By the time they did leave, I would be commencing my training to become a nurse, and would probably be extremely busy. But I still didn't want them to go. The last few months had been the best I could've hoped for when mother had informed me my cousins I'd never met were coming to stay with us for a while.

"You could _try_ to pretend you're upset on our behalf," Ed grumbled, before sitting back down beside Lucy and taking the letter from her hands, reading it himself. Maybe he thought if _he_ read it, the words would tell him something different; that he wasn't stuck here with my brother for another couple months.

I nudged their feet, "Look on the bright side. You've got me for another couple months."

They both just ignored me, too disappointed to be able to join in my joking. Ed sighed at Lucy, "You're lucky, at least you're not stuck in a room with Mullet mouth."

"Susan and Pete are the lucky ones," She replied glumly, standing up and walking over to a mirror hanging on the wall. Ed took the opportunity to lie back on her bed and I pulled myself up, hair swinging about in long, curling tresses as I shoved him over and lay down beside him. I closed my eyes, content to just listen to them talk. My house was too quiet sometimes, that I enjoyed the occasional outbursts from them, their talking and laughing. It was nice just to have sound. "Off on _adventures_."

"Yeah, they're the eldest and we're the youngest. We don't matter as much."

"Do you think I look anything like Susan?" Lucy piped up suddenly, and I opened one eye to look at her as she contemplated her reflection. Ed sighed, not paying attention, his mind elsewhere, so I answered instead.

"You've showed me pictures of Susan, and I think you're prettier," I said simply, shrugging when her reflection glanced down at me.

She sighed like she didn't believe me. "That's easy for you to say. You've had plenty of soldiers take an interest in you."

"It was only a couple times, and that was hardly plenty," I corrected, ignoring the uneasy feeling that spread through my body when she reminded me of Don. But then I was huffing indignantly as Ed rolled over me to stand up, ignoring our conversation. He also ignored my protests, taking too much pleasure in my discomfort, jabbing my stomach with his elbow. "_You weigh a ton, Ed_. Besides, I'm older than you, Lu. Soon, they'll all be lined up to take you out dancing!"

"But I'm not pretty like you," she argued.

I shook my head. She just didn't see it yet. I was older than her, had more time to mature into my figure so that I was womanlier – rounded and curvy, instead of straight and pointed, though I was petite. I'd grown into my features, and there was a sort of innocence to my face, a startled kind of delight, that had little to do with age and more to do with my wide green eyes, delicate neck and heart-shaped face. Lucy was still stuck in the phase between girl and woman, her cheeks slightly rounder, and more childish, which pointed out her youth. "You _are_ pretty, Lu. Believe me."

"Lucy, Juliette," Ed cut in, staring at the painting, a puzzled expression on his face. "Have either of you seen this ship before?"

"It has only been in my room for years." Then I frowned, shaking my head. "But there's no ship."

"Yes, there is," Ed disagreed.

"No, there isn't," I said slowly, like his intelligence was in question rather than his eyesight.

"Actually," Lucy broke in, frowning at the painting. "There is."

"_What?_" I asked incredulously and I sat up quickly, going to look at the picture myself. They had to be imagining things, because I distinctly remember the painting being just that of the ocean; a canvas of mixing and twisting streams of different hues of blue and green. There was no ship.

I squinted at the canvas, trying to make it out. I blinked. Then blinked again. Then rubbed at my eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing spots. I leant forward, narrowing my eyes. There it was; small and in the right corner, but nevertheless present. Ed was right. What on earth?

I frowned, muttering, "That's impossible."

Was it possible I'd missed it, all those times I'd looked at it? I was the one who _chose_ the painting for my room, because it made the ocean calm and beautiful looking, and I'd always wanted to go to the beach. I searched my memories of it, seeking out the small brown ship in the corner.

"It's very Narnia looking, isn't it?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah," Ed agreed. "Just another reminder that we're here and not there."

"I've never seen it before," I frowned. I blinked again, to double check that I wasn't seeing things. The painting _had_ been in my room for years; it was hardly new. I'd stared at it many times before, and never, _never,_ had there been any ship. I'd only ever seen the waves of the ocean. No ship.

_No ship_.

This couldn't be my painting. But then, the ocean was painted in exactly the same style as my original painting. My jaw clenched. If Eustace had come into my room, _without permission_, and _drawn_ on my favourite painting, then _Ed_ would have to be the one holding _me_ back for once. But then, Ed probably wouldn't bother.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

"There once were two orphans," Eustace started from the doorway, in a sing-song voice that was obviously about to mock his cousins. In all fairness, _devil_ may be going a tad far. "Who wasted their time, believing in Narnian nursery rhymes."

"_Eustace_," I scolded, both for his rudeness and for the fact that he probably _drew on my favourite painting_.

My eyes narrowed at him, as he stepped into my bedroom, his fingers gripping the handle. Eavesdropper. Ed took a threatening step towards him, "Please let me hit him."

"No!" Lucy said adamantly, bring her arm out to stop his progress forward.

"Don't you ever knock?" He growled out.

"Okay, enough," I snapped, trying to cut into their argument. But they ignored me.

"It's my house. I'll do as I please. You're just guests." He walked further into the room, sitting down on the bed to make a point. I made an outraged face at him – this was _my_ room. "What's so fascinating about that picture anyway? It's hideous."

"You won't see it from the other side of the door," Ed insisted, turning back to look at the painting and hoping he would take the hint. He didn't.

"Eustace," I said calmly, reigning in my irritation to at least give the impression that I wasn't accusing him. If he thought for even a second that I was going to point the finger and blame him for something, he'd clam up and start his tirade of complaining. "Did you _draw_ on my painting?"

Okay, so that was an outright accusation. So much for trying to subtly pull the truth from him.

"And this is my room!" I tacked on, hoping he didn't notice the blatant finger pointing and get all hostile.

No such luck, and he made a face at me, "Don't be ridiculous. Why would I waste my time ruining an already _ugly_ painting?"

I scrunched up my nose at him, though he had a point. Drawing on my painting seemed too juvenile for him, though if the painting had belonged to Ed or Lucy, I didn't doubt he would've drawn all over it. But considering I was his sister, I liked to imagine he drew the line at my belongings. I wasn't entirely sure if I was deluding myself or not though.

"Edmund, it looks like the water's actually moving," Lucy mused, tilting her head to the side. It distracted me and I frowned, turning to glance back at the painting as well. I blinked, surprised for the second time. This was my painting, and I'd _never_ noticed? She was right; the way the colours were painted must be playing tricks on our eyes. It gave the effect that the water was actually moving in waves.

Really, _actually_, moving.

I frowned, so confused. How could I not have noticed? This couldn't be my painting. I would've noticed. I _would've_. It didn't make any sense otherwise.

"What rubbish, see? That's what happens when you read all those fancy novels and fairytales of yours," Eustace said, though we weren't really paying attention to him then, our eyes locked onto the painting, like we were hypnotized. The colours blended together so smoothly, it looked almost real. It was beautiful. I was too busy contemplating it to pay my brother any attention. He hated to be ignored.

"There once was a boy named Eustace," Ed said, mimicking the sing-song voice Eustace had used before to mock them. "Who reads books full of facts that were useless."

I grinned slightly, murmuring an absentminded, "Good one."

"People who read fairytales are always the sort who become a hideous burden to people like me," Eustace snapped. The comment made Ed round on him, but my attention was completely on the painting now. I thought…no, it couldn't be. But…it _looked_ like the ship had actually moved. It had been in the top right corner before, right? Now, it had shifted to the left corner. Was that even possible?

Of course not.

It couldn't be.

I must have looked at it wrong before. This must be a big misunderstanding – maybe mother had gotten a new painting…the exact same size and in the exact same style as my original one.

The bedroom door was pushed shut right when a trickle of water leaked out of the corner of the painting.

I gasped, taking an astonished, disbelieving half-step back, "Ed!"

He didn't reply, continuing his taunting of Eustace. More water leaked out from the edges, like it was trickling out from the frame. A wind kicked up, salty and fresh, like an actual breeze cutting across the waves of the ocean, blowing mine and Lucy's hair back from our faces. _What on earth?_ Did I just feel wind? In my _bedroom_? Where the window _wasn't even open_?

Oh, good lord. I had to be going crazy. _Where did the wind come from?_

And what was with the water? I reached up, pressing my hands over the flow of water, as if to stem it. This couldn't be happening. This had to be a dream. I blinked, and then the ship was closer. A short scream left my lips. Oh, good God. I shook my head. I must be seeing things. I _had_ to be seeing things. Paintings didn't _move_. My heart leapt to my throat, panic rising. Lucy cried out, "Edmund, the painting!"

"There must be a burst pipe, or something," I said quickly, feeling infinitely more comfortable with that logical explanation, my fingers fumbling around the edge of the painting on the wall. Panic was properly pumping though my veins now though, in time to my erratic pulse. I had to find the leak and stop it, otherwise it might soak through the wood of the house, and the whole place could be waterlogged. It would cost a fortune to fix, and we didn't have that kind of money. Everything would be ruined. I shouted to no one in particular, "Get my father!"

A strangled scream tore up my throat when I swept my hand over cool, completely _dry_ wall. The wood should be water-logged and sopping wet. Expanded. It wasn't. _Where_ was the water coming from? I lifted the edge of the painting up, searching the wall behind it. The wall was just as dry as the rest. And even though I'd lifted the painting off the wall, water continued to leak out the edges of the frame, the spray heavier and more forceful now than the trickle before.

I quickly dropped it like I'd been electrocuted, stumbling back from it.

I stared at the water dripping down my hand and a frightened, creeping paralysis spread through my body. How…was this even possible? I was completely at a loss as to what was happening here, right now. My painting was…_moving_ and…_leaking_ water and wind.

Physically impossible, yet it was happening. Right in front of me. I couldn't deny what I'd seen, but it _wasn't possible_. It couldn't be. I had to be going crazy. It was the only plausible explanation here. It was the only thing that made sense.

Because water should be dripping down the wall, not bursting out the edges of the painting frame, like _it_ contained the water. The painting, once still and unmoving, now had roving waves sweeping across the canvas, a ship sailing towards us. I blinked, hard. Oh, good lord.

More water spurted out, slapping my face sharply, splashing in my mouth. It was _salty_. Like the ocean. Which was what the painting was of – an ocean. I stumbled again then, no longer frozen in incredulousness and utter disbelief, my eyes open wide as I stared at it. The bottom of my feet splashed in the small layer of water covering the floor. Then I shrieked, "_Ed!_"

That finally got their attention, droplets spraying Eustace's head. "What's going on here?"

Ed's mouth dropped open in surprise, his eyes flashing to his sister, "Lucy, do you think - ."

"It's some kind of trick," Eustace said, panicked. "Stop it or I'll tell mother! Mother! Mother!"

Ed and Lucy were both staring at the painting, ecstatic grins on their faces. My painting was leaking – physically impossible – and they were _grinning_? And then Eustace was running forward to the painting, waves pouring out now, grabbing at it and pulling it down off the wall. The ship had disappeared, replaced by a sky, almost like we were floating along the surface of the water, that was how close the painting looked.

Water was gushing out so fast, and Ed went to stop Eustace, drenching them.

"Stop!" I screamed at them. "Stop fighting!"

Large waves were pouring out, splashing on me, drenching my hair and clothing, and I was spurred into action. My books littered the floor and I darted forward, the liquid lapping at my ankles, to pick them up and throw them on my bed.

I fell over a floating object, landing with a thud in the seawater. It soaked through my long, straight green skirt and my white, button-down ruffle blouse, the one that had taken me forever to find, the ends of my hair curling at the moisture. "Oh, my God! Lucy! Ed! _What is going on?_"

But they were too busy grappling with Eustace to answer. I was torn between yanking them apart and putting an end to their dispute, and running out to our father. He would know what to do. Hopefully. Yes, that was the priority; stop the water.

The water started to rise much quicker then, and we slipped and fell over, flapping our arms about. How was that even possible? It should be leaking out under the door, filling the house before in here. The water should not be rising! The painting was no longer attached to the wall, but it kept spewing water out. I had no idea what to do.

_I had no idea what to do._

How was this even possible? In a second, the water had reached my hips. I turned, trying to jump my way through it to get to the door without tripping, my heavy skirt tangling around my legs and weighing me down. We had to get out, we had to get help. I tugged on the door handle, but it wouldn't budge. Maybe the pressure from the rising water was keeping it in place. Yanking the ends of my skirt up to my knees, I braced one foot against the wall beside the door, trying to pull it open with all my might.

It wouldn't budge. Oh, God, it _wouldn't budge_.

We were trapped in here, with rapidly rising water. Books and chairs, clothing and pillows floated about in the water. I had no time to think of a way out. Then I slipped, splashing about in the water, and it was above our heads in an instant. I spotted my copy of _Anna Karenina_ floating about above my head, and I reached for it as I kicked my way up in the room, gasping for breath.

"Help!" I screamed. "Oh, God, help! Father! Anyone! _Help!_"

A cold, choking terror clamped down on my throat, and the turbulent waves filled my mouth with salty seawater, burning my nose and throat and eyes. My arms waved about, and I gasped for air, screaming as loud as I could. We needed help, oh, God, we needed help or we were going to die in here. The water had almost filled the room, only a small sliver of air left at the ceiling.

And then there was no more air. My fingers felt cold, the water chilling my bones. Fear slithered along my spine in an icy pattern. I was going to die.

I was going to die.

The way out – I needed the way out! Where was the door? Where was the bedroom door?

I _needed_ air.

_I was going to die._

**Thanks so much for reading! What did you think?**

**This chapter was getting a little long, so I had to split it in two parts. The rest will be coming soon hopefully, once I've finished it! And guess what? Caspian will be in the next chapter! YAY! I'm so excited for him to meet Juliette, and I hope you guys are excited to read it!**

**Thanks so much to everyone who favourited and alerted and reviewed! Your support is awesome, and it makes me want to write more to share with you!**

**Review replies.**

**ILoveSamClaflin'x: **Thank you! I'm stoked you think this story has potential! Thank you so much for reviewing for me! It means a lot, and I'm glad you seem to want to read more of this! :D

**Bronze Cat: **Wow, thank you! I'm flattered you think I've continued superbly and that (I think) you like my writing style! Yes, I've noticed a lot of fics here have the script written out with the OC slotted in between lines, and I'll try to avoid that as much as possible! I do like to stay as close to the movie as possible, so there will definitely be the conversations from it in here, but usually shortened and maybe changed a bit. Mainly though, I will just have plenty of other scenes not from the movie that involve Juliette. Thank you so much for leaving such a nice review, and I'm stoked you want to read what Juliette makes of Narnia! :D

**Narsilia Lyanna Elendil: **Thank you :D And thanks for reviewing again! I'm stoked you still want to read more!

**Teddy bear 007: **Right? It's fantastic; gives me warm fuzzies :D Haha, ouch! Hopefully you didn't hurt yourself when you fell out of that spiny chair! Hahaha!

**Gentle Blossom: **Thank you so much! I'm so flattered you think my story is great so far! And I'm so glad you like Juliette so far! YAY! I'm glad you can't wait until she meets Caspian because I can't wait to write it! I'm so pumped for it, and it'll be in the next chapter! I hope you enjoyed this chapter in the meantime. Thanks again :D

**Just Me: **Thank you! Yeah, I wasn't really sure about the Don thing either, but it's more there as a safeguard, if-I-need-it thing that may be useful for future, future chapters, depending on where I go with this. I'm glad you're looking forward to them going to Narnia, because I'm excited to write it! Yes, Eustace will definitely be going with them (though I suppose this chapter probably answered that question), and I know, I love Caspian too! He's awesome. And I'm really glad you're looking forward to it! Thank you so much! :D

**Crystal-Wolf-Guardian-967: **Thank you (again!) haha! I'm really pleaded you loved it! And Caspian will be coming into it in the next chapter! I hope you're looking forward to that, because I am! Thanks so much for reviewing again!

**Guest: **Wow, thank you! I'm really flattered you think this is going to be a great story! That really means a lot to me! Haha, no, he's not, but he will be in the next chapter! Thank you so much, I'm stoked you seem to want to read more, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter too! Thanks so much for reviewing! :D

**Crystalskies14: **Hey! Thank you, I'm really glad you loved it! Naw, you'll make me blush. I'm really pleased you think my writing is vivid and that you can visualize where the scene is and everything; it's really nice of you to let me know, because I always get really, really critical of my writing to the point of not wanting to post it! Thank you so much! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter too :D

**Thanks so much guys! Let me know what you thought of this chapter, and I'll try to update within the next 12 hours, I'm so excited for Caspian to come into it!**


	4. Just Breathe

…

For the First Time in Forever

CHAPTER FOUR – Just Breathe

And then the room disappeared.

All around me was a seemingly unending expanse of blue water. It was almost pretty, for a moment; so very _blue_. Then my lungs screamed at me for air and the most frightening thing was that I didn't know which way was _up_. I didn't know which way the air was.

The waves jostled me about, like they were fighting over me and which direction I should go in, trying to pull me in half. Twisting me and tumbling me over, so I didn't know where the surface was. Gravity had little power over me in the water, and I couldn't feel if I was sinking, I couldn't feel if I was being pulled down so I could know which way was up.

My body realized I needed air, and I started twisting and clawing for it, one hand still gripping my book. I couldn't seem to relax my fingers to drop it, holding it in a tight, vice-grip, so I didn't try to let go of it, the last thread of my sanity, just searching for air. _I didn't know which way was up_, didn't know which way the air was. I fought to keep my breath from escaping me, to keep my lips locked down on it, otherwise I'd have to breathe in, and there was only water. A burning in my chest flared agonizingly and I couldn't think much past that or the overwhelming panic. My mind screamed at me to move, to swim, to get to air.

Panic and dread and fear filled me like rocks, my arms and legs kicking out wildly, but it seemed like I wasn't moving at all, just floundering around. My head pounded painfully hard, my chest fit to bursting. A thousand tiny needle pricks were jabbing me over every inch of my body, feeling like my cells wanted to _rip apart_.

I screamed. Silver bubbles flew from my lips and something clicked. Those bubbles were heading to the surface. I frantically chased them, but the cold of the water was numbing my arms and legs and it was so hard to move. I ached. All my air had left me and I needed some. I needed it _now_. But there was only water.

I was drowning.

No! I didn't want to drown. Not here, not now. I forced my legs to kick harder, just as I began to notice that bright sunlight was penetrating the waves to me. Air was up there, with the sunlight. I needed to get to it, but _God_, my arms and legs hurt so badly and it felt like I wasn't getting any closer.

Then strong arms wrapped around mine, just as I was slowing pathetically, tugging me up quickly, currents forming from the powerful strokes. Black patches started appearing in my vision. I needed air. The waves were choppy and it felt like my limbs were made of lead, dragging me back down. If I wasn't being pulled up, I would have sunk.

And then I split the water.

I sucked in huge, raking breaths of half air, half water, and I started slapping around like a maniac, desperate to stay up here. _Sweet, blessed air_. I cried out in pure relief, my lungs hacking up the third of water that was stored in there, my throat searing painfully as I tried to breathe and expel the water at the same time.

Oh, God, _air_.

"It's alright, I've got you." My ears felt flooded with water, but I could still hear the voice behind me clearly, and I noticed that a firm hand was gripping my waist, helping me stay up. My legs were treading water, but I couldn't seem to move them very well. I kept being dunked back under by the choppy waves as they slapped into my face. As I blinked water out of my eyes, I managed to spin myself around in the water, my arms flapping about to my side to keep my head up.

God, I was so exhausted. I was panting heavily, my belly quickly filling with salty water that made me want to gag. But I couldn't get my head high enough up to avoid the water smacking into my mouth as I tried to breathe.

The man beside me, whose hand was helping me stay up, and was the only real reason I was still at the surface and breathing, had dark brown eyes that watched me closely. His dark brown hair, slightly shorter than shoulder-length, was plastered to the side of his face, and there was stubble covering his cheeks and jaw and chin. That was all I could see as water splashed up again, stinging my eyes and covering his face.

I was sluggish from the cold, like my veins were filled with icy water, and I felt certain that my lips were blue. I opened my mouth, rasping out, my voice croaky and painfully raw and scratchy, each breath burning. But I _was_ breathing. "Who are you?"

Better question: _where the hell am I?_

But that question started a tirade of questions rushing through my mind, so quickly I felt suddenly overwhelmed with how little I was comprehending about my situation.

My situation. It made me snort, which quickly became painful and burning when I snorted in seawater, choking. 'Situation' seemed so…pedestrian, when I thought about what my _situation_ actually was. One second, I'd been in my room, then that room had filled with water, which should be impossible, and from a _painting_ nonetheless, and then I was in the middle of the _ocean_. My already labored breathing accelerated, my eyes wide in panic.

This couldn't be happening.

"I am Caspian the tenth, King of Narnia," He answered, spluttering slightly as water lapped into his mouth. I was doing the same. I blinked at him as his answer registered. The name was familiar and..._Narnia_? Oh, no. Oh no, oh no, oh no. I'd been saved by a _crazy_ man. A man with the same name as the King of Narnia in the game Ed and Lucy and their brother and sister played. Narnia wasn't real – it was _just_ a game Ed and Lucy played – _Ed and Lucy and Eustace!_

I looked around frantically, and I finally noticed everything else, because before, it had been about breathing. It have been about surviving and _not_ drowning. Where were my cousins? Where was Eustace? Oh, God, what if they hadn't made it up? I screamed out, still coughing up water, the waves pushing more into my mouth and up my nose, "Eustace! Ed! Lucy! _Eustace_!"

I could barely hear my voice, it was so horribly raw. Where were they? What if they were hurt?

I spun around wildly, and let out a yelp. There was a ship, coming towards us. It was the ship from the painting. _It was the ship from the painting!_ Oh, my god! It had an ornately carved dragon head at the front, the ship made of wood, a purple and gold large sheet of material filled from the wind and pushing it along the sea. I pushed myself back from it, colliding with the man who'd saved me.

Oh my God, I was losing my mind.

Then I spotted other heads, bobbing in the water. Lucy's head was not far from me, a man I didn't recognize close behind her. Her eyes became wide as she looked over at me, her gaze landing on 'Caspian'. "Caspian?"

"Lucy?" The man behind me asked.

Lucy grinned widely, turning over her shoulder to yell out to another dark, bobbing head, "Edmund! It's Caspian!"

Oh, my God, they were all crazy.

So, I did the only logical thing to do in my _situation_. I screamed. Loudly and hoarsely, the sound horrible and grating, and hysterical. I could feel myself beginning to hyperventilate, my breathing shallow and quick, making me feel dizzy and lightheaded. It wasn't a good mix with the salty waters of death still trying to drag me back down to their depths forever, and my previous, tenuous attempts at being calm were destroyed.

With jerky, uncoordinated movements, I started swimming away from 'Caspian'. He could be dangerous. My screaming continued, short and cut off when the waves slapped into my face. But I would just gasp in more air and scream some more. I couldn't seem to stop myself, but panic and fear were pounding through my system, my body taking over as my mind went around in confused circles.

"Eustace!" I screamed, just before I slipped back under the surface of the water. Moving my arms and legs was like pushing a giant boulder. Uphill. I breathed in water before I thought not to, choking. Then warm hands were gripping my upper arms tightly, pulling me back to the surface. I spluttered, hacking up the water in my lungs.

'Caspian' tried propelling me towards the ship, where heads poked out over the edge to peer down at us, "You need to get out of the water and catch your breath or you'll drown!"

He really _was_ crazy if he thought I was going anywhere with him. I evaded his grip, my hands colliding with his surprisingly firm chest as I shoved him away from me, before trying to swim back out of his reach. "Stay away from me!"

I sounded hysterical. I'd had my fair share of crazy men invading my space for one day. First Don now this man, who was just as deluded as the former. My arms were a hazard as I made a mockery of swimming.

I'd just been in my room, looking at a painting, and now I was _out in the middle of the ocean_ being saved by a man who thought he was a king. Of _Narnia_. Which was a made-up world! My head pounded, and I started shivering, my teeth chattering, despite the fact that the sun was out, shinning high up in the sky. My legs and hands slowed, and I sunk under the water more easily. I was so exhausted, so tired, that I couldn't keep myself up. I sucked in more air, my eyes sweeping over the water in quick, darting motions, like I was looking for an _exit_.

An exit from the crazy train I'd boarded in my mind, maybe, because all I could see was water and a ship.

"_Eustace?!_" I called out again, despite the way my throat flared with pain when I used it, damaged from the seawater and screaming. I had to find my brother, I had to make sure he was okay. And then I had to get us away from them. I'd mistakenly thought Ed and Lu's lunacy was harmless. I was wrong. Somehow, they'd managed to drag me and my brother down the crazy path with them, and I just wanted to go home to my nice, normal, sane, _dry_ room and never think about this again. "Eustace! Eustace!"

Unsurprisingly, I didn't get far until 'Caspian' had caught up to me. He shouted at me, sounding exasperated, "Just let me help you!"

"No!" I said stubbornly, gasping in breaths as I was dunked more and more often under the surface. His fingers wrapped around my upper arm easily, pulling me back. "Let me go!"

Further out, I spotted Eustace's blonde head and breathed a sigh of relief when I heard his shouts of fear and disbelief. His yells meant that, at least, he was _breathing_, if nothing else. Then the man who called himself Caspian started propelling me over to the ship again, determined to get me aboard.

I wanted to fight him on it. I really did. I wanted to swim over to Eustace and somehow _will_ us back to my bedroom. But I doubted I'd even make it over to Eustace. I was too exhausted to move, and I just wanted a _reprieve_ without fearing I'd drown. And at the very least, Ed and Lucy had talked about how Caspian was a good person, so if this man had fooled himself into believing that he was Caspian, then maybe he'd also possess the same qualities and traits. Maybe taking a couple minutes to catch our breaths on the ship wouldn't be too bad. And then I could get Ed and Lu to send us back. Yes. That was a better plan than drowning.

I looked back over at my brother, who was still yelling and trying to swim away. Men I didn't recognize, and were probably a part of the crew of the ship chased after him before he ended up drowning too. I had to admire their determination to save us, considering we were too stubborn to let it happen easily.

"Eustace!" I screamed at him, and he paused slightly in his race, his yells subsiding for a moment when he recognized my voice. He looked around quickly, spotting me. I pointed up at the ship, "Come on!"

"Glad you've decided to make this easier for me," 'Caspian' laughed behind me, his voice carrying amusement so clearly that I didn't even have to look at his face to know he was grinning.

Fantastic. My crazy, delusional savior had a sense of _humour_.

"I don't particularly feel like drowning today," I croaked out.

'Caspian' was doing practically all the work as he swam us over to the ship considering my limbs didn't seem to be working anymore and I was shaking from the cold. A plank of wood, with rope tied around each end, was lowered into the water for us to be lifted up onto the ship. His lips quirked again, his voice purposefully smooth like he was holding back a different remark to the one he said. "Could've fooled me."

Oh, so _funny_.

Nearly drowning and being surrounded by crazy people had put me in a bad mood.

I didn't know who these people were – or if they were even _real_ – but Lucy and Ed seemed to be happy to see them. I just needed to get out of the water, to breathe without each intake of air being half seawater, so I could think and make sure they were okay and then think some more. This had to be a dream; a horrible, dreadful dream where I nearly _drowned_, but a _dream_ nonetheless. Caspian grabbed the rope with one hand, grabbing my upper arm with the other as he helped me.

"Brace your feet on the wood," he instructed, and I did as he said, going to grab the rope to mirror his actions, when I noticed my book was still in my hand. I could seem to unclench my fingers from it, other than my pinky, so I held the rope with that finger. But my legs felt like jelly, and I tried to stand next to him, only to find I couldn't. "What's your name?"

"Juliette," I managed to get out.

"Juliette," he repeated. "Just hold onto me."

I was too exhausted to argue, wrapping an arm around the back of his waist hesitantly, just as there was an almighty tug upwards and I slipped slightly. He pulled me to him quickly, his strong hand digging into my waist as he kept a hold of me and the rope at the same time. My other hand with the book came around to brace against the cream coloured shirt sticking to his lean torso. The side of his body pressed against mine was warm, and for a moment, my shivering subsided.

We were lifted out of the water, great streams of it dripping down our bodies and from our clothes. His shirt became somewhat transparent, clinging to his chest that I realized was far more broad than I expected as well. We were pulled across and onto the ship, and I stumbled forward as a hand reached out to help me, my legs nearly caving out from under me.

I stood there, shivering, both hands gripping my book as my arms tensed. Long tendrils of my reddish-brown hair had fallen into my face, slightly obscuring my vision. A rough material blanket was wrapped around my shoulders firmly, and I relaxed into it, grabbing the ends to hold together and conserve body warmth. "Th-thanks."

I glanced up to find Lucy staring back down at me, as she was already on board. I launched myself at her, hugging her to me tightly before pulling back, the blanket balancing precariously on my shoulders. My hands fluttered over her, turning her face this way and that, fussing over her, "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

I peered into her eyes, waiting impatiently for her response, "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she insisted, as beside me, Caspian was handed a blanket by one of the men. It startled me, and I looked around the ship to find about twelve men gathered around, watching us. They all wore matching uniforms of a mauve vest-tunic over a white long sleeved shirt and long pants. My shoulders tensed under so many eyes. At least none seemed hostile or looked like they were about to charge at me.

"Good." I looked back at Lucy, grabbing the edges of the blanket over her shoulders, pulling it around her body more firmly. I hugged her again, relief swelling through my chest cavity.

"That was thrilling," she laughed, and I pulled back slightly as I looked at her like she was mad.

That was _not_ thrilling. She walked forward towards 'Caspian', a happy smile on her face, and she slipped out of my arms. For a second, I didn't want to let her go, afraid that if I did, she'd disappear. I mean, where was I? One second I was inside a room filling with water, the next I was in the middle of the ocean! How was that even remotely possible?

Maybe I hit my head and blacked out. Yes. That made sense. And this was all just a horrible dream.

'Caspian' rubbed the blanket over his hair before he clapped Lucy on the shoulder. "How in the world did you end up here?"

"I have no idea," She laughed honestly, shaking her head.

My clothing clung to me uncomfortably and I pushed back at my long hair as it stuck itself to my neck. I huffed in annoyance as I tried detaching the strands from my skin with difficulty, battling with it, and I glanced up to find warm brown eyes watching me in amusement.

My eyes widened, my breath catching in my throat. It was like drowning all over again. My breath was lodged half way to my mouth as I looked up – for he was considerably taller than me, unsurprisingly – at the man, really actually looking at him, outlined in beautiful yellow sunlight, his bulk blocking out the sun temporarily. I hadn't noticed before, when we were submerged in water, only parts of his face visible at any one time.

God, he was _devastatingly_ handsome. His dark, kind eyes held an almost playful light, his neatly sculpted features working together to create a very pleasant image. The stubble on his jaw and cheeks made him look slightly older, but his face was unmarked by any signs of real age. He was young. I shook my head, suddenly dizzy from the lack of air. Again.

_Breathe_, I commanded myself.

He had an unnerving ability to make me forget how to, though, and I finally gasped in some air. The silence between us as he watched me and I gaped at him extended and I felt the need to say something, anything. Stuttering out the words in short, stupid sentences, I said, "Thanks. Thank you. For saving me."

_Even if I'm pretty sure you're crazier than me right at this moment_.

I was anxious about a lot of things; getting my brother and making sure he was okay, making sure Ed was okay, and then getting back to my bedroom. And him looking like _that_ didn't help the whirlwind of emotions swamping my chest.

His lips quirked into a grin, completely at ease like there was nothing to fear or worry about, "You're welcome, Juliette."

Just breathe.

**Thanks for reading!**

**What did you think?**

**I guess it took longer than my estimated **_**12 hours**_**…but Caspian finally came into it! I hope you enjoyed Juliette's reaction to Narnia and to Caspian!**

**Review Replies –**

**Crystal-Wolf-Guardian-967: **Thank you! I'm really glad you loved it, and I'm glad you were excited for Caspian to come into it – I hope you enjoyed it then! Thanks again :D

**BlueRose22: **Thank you so much, I'm really glad you thought it was a good chapter, and that my story is great so far! I'm really pleased you're enjoying it! I hope you enjoyed this chapter too, and thanks so much for reviewing! :D

**Teddy bear 007: **Haha! That's a little embarrassing, ut at least you could laugh about it! :P

**Just Me: **Thank you! I'm stoked you thought the description of her reaction to the painting and the water was good – yes, she's a little like Susan in that she searched for a logical explanation, because it was the only thing she could do, haha! I hope you liked her arrival in Narnia! Thanks so much for reviewing again!

**MyNamesMoonChild: **Okay! Thank you, I'm stoked you want to read more and that you love my OC! I like her too :D Thanks so much for reviewing! It means a lot to me! I hope you liked this chapter too! :D


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